GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION
TO: Editor of lesbian/gay publication
FROM: Donald Suggs, GLAAD/NY
RE: GLAAD Tidings
DATE: July 14, 1993
GLAAD TIDINGS
By Cathay Che
The only national lesbian and gay variety show on public television is
being threatened by right-wing backlash. When In the Life began
broadcasting in 1992, under the sponsorship of New York city affiliate
WNYC, it became America's first nationally distributed, lesbian and
gay- oriented television show.
As In The Life gears up for it's second season, PBS remains hesitant in
providing full-scale, national support for the program.
PBS has refused to distribute In The Life, which means the producers of
the show must arrange for air-time with each station individually.
This also means that ITL is excluded from the better time slots,
generally reserved for official PBS offerings. Why?
Well, right-wing backlash, and the money donated to Public Broadcasting
by wealthy conservatives in the South who want more Christian
programming is a strong motivating factor. But we pay taxes too. And
perhaps PBS needs to hear more from us about how our lesbian and gay
dollars are supporting them, and how crucial In the Life in to lesbians
and gay men across the nation.
Write to:
Harry Chancey
Senior Vice-President & Director of Programming
WNET
356 W. 58th Street
NY, NY 10019
It is equally important to write letters of thanks to WNYC
for their continuing support in co-producing In the Life.
Address letters tot
David Sit
Managing Programmer
WNYC
1 Center Street
NY, NY 10007
And for more information about ITL call their office at 212.255.6012,
-----
While the media blitz continues to glamorize and trivialize our lives
with coverage of "lesbian chic", outrageous statistics about how much
money we all earn, and the boon in advertising targeting the gay
market, there continue to be lesbians and gay men who live in rural
parts of America for whom the biggest triumph is being able to come out
and stay put in their own hometowns.
The July 19th issue of Time magazine featured a one page article in the
society section titled "Coming Out in the Country". While many
lesbians and gay men gather in urban areas where we enjoy more safety
in numbers, lesbians and gay men in small towns are taking risks by
coming out and being visible.
The Rev. Lois Van Leer and her partner Karune Neustadt, profiled in the
article, live on three acres of land in a secluded part of Oregon.
They regularly receive death threats which the local Police Chief has
described as some of the worst she's ever heard. Says the Rev. van
Leer: "It's frightening. But you just have to decide that if you
don't speak now, it'll only get worse".
The article also profiles Bill Crews, the out, part-time mayor of
Melbourne, Iowa, which has a population of about 700. Crews and John
Broussard, who both came out on local tv in Walsh, Louisiana, as being
gay and HIV positive. In spite of some incidents of vandalism and some
rejection by people they thought were friends, the article makes it
clear that both think they have had a beneficial effect on their
neighbors.
What we all know is that there are lesbians and gay man in cities,
where we have visible communities. Write to Time and thank them for a
story that makes lesbians and gay men visible in the heartland of
America.
Write to:
Time
Letters Department
Time & Life Building
Rockefeller Center
NY, NY 10020